Sweet potato gulab jamun recipe with step by step pics. These are soft textured delicious jamun made with just three main ingredients – sweet potatoes (shakarkandi), all purpose flour and sugar syrup.
I had stumbled upon this method of preparing gulab jamun with sweet potatoes 6 years back. When I had made these for the first time, the jamun became dense & hard. Reason being I added too much flour and kneaded also too much. Later of course, I rectified the mistake I had done and so now I do prepare decent gulab jamun with sweet potatoes.
Since tomorrow is Dussehra, so thought of adding this sweet recipe. Jamun made with sweet potatoes is a traditional sweet from bengal and is also known as mishti aloo’r pantua. this pantua recipe is not the originally Bengali version, but an adapation of the same.
The taste of these jamun are no where near the Gulab jamun made from khoya or milk powder. They taste very different. But they taste good. You can also check these other variations:
The recipe is simple and easy to prepare. Since gulab jamun are a favorite with many folks, why not give a try to this recipe of sweet potato gulab jamun.
How to make sweet potato gulab jamun
1. Firstly you will need to steam or boil sweet potatoes. rinse 280 grams sweet potatoes (2 medium sized sweet potatoes) very well in water. Then steam them in a pressure cooker or a pan. If cooking in a pressure cooker, then pressure cook for about 3 to 4 whistles with water just about covering the sweet potatoes. I steamed sweet potatoes in a rice cooker. In the picture you see four sweet potatoes, but I only used two of them for the jamuns. You can even peel sweet potatoes first and then steam them.
2. Let the sweet potatoes become warm or cool down. If you have used a pressure cooker or pan for cooking the sweet potatoes, then drain them very well. These two steamed sweet potatoes were used for the jamun dough.
3. Lightly peel and then roughly chop them.
4. With a potato masher, mash them very well. There should not be any small chunks of the sweet potatoes.
5. Add 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (maida). The flour is added to bind the mixture. If required, you can add 1.5 to 2 tablespoons all purpose flour.
6. Mix very well and then knead lightly. Gather the dough together.
7. Now make small or medium sized balls from the dough. Flatten them and place one or half of a pistachio in the center. You can also use sliced almonds or cashews or raisins. The stuffing part with dry fruits is optional and you can skip this step.
8. Bring the edges together, seal and form a neat ball. I made medium sized jamuns. You can make small too.
9. Prepare all the jamun this way. Keep aside.
Preparing sugar syrup
10. Now take 1 cup sugar or 170 grams sugar and ½ cup water in a pan.
11. Keep the pan on a low flame and stir so that the sugar melts.
12. Cook the syrup till you get a half-string consistency in it. The syrup should feel sticky and not watery. So you can even cook the sugar syrup till it feels sticky. If the syrup is watery, then the jamuns will break after soaking the syrup.
13. Switch off the flame and add ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder.
14. Mix well and keep aside. The sugar syrup should be hot or warm when you add the jamuns in it.
Frying sweet potato gulab jamun
15. Now heat oil for deep frying in a kadai. add a tiny piece of the dough and check the oil temperature. If the dough comes up gradually and steadily, the oil is ready for frying. If it stays at the bottom of the oil, the oil needs to be heated more. If it comes up too quickly, then the oil is too hot for frying. So lower the flame.
16. gently place the balls in the oil.
17. fry at a low to medium temperature.
18. Keep regulating the flame from low to medium as required. Add the jamuns for frying as per the pan size. Do not overcrowd the pan.
19. Only when the jamuns have become pale golden, then turn them. Use a wooden spatula while turning them as with a steel slotted spoon, they can break. Keep on turning & rotating them often for even frying. If you don’t turn them regularly, then they will have uneven shades of golden color. Here the jamuns have become golden, but not completely golden, so they need to be fried more and also rotated for an even golden color.
2o. Fry till the jamuns turn golden.
21. Then remove with a slotted spoon.
22. Place them on kitchen paper towels.
Soaking sweet potato gulab jamun in sugar syrup
23. After a few seconds, place them in the sugar syrup.
24. Gently shake the pan or with a spoon pour the sugar syrup on top of the jamuns or turn over each jamun after a few minutes.
26. Cover and keep aside.
27. Fry all the remaining jamuns and then keep them in the sugar syrup for soaking. I kept them in the sugar syrup all the time and did not remove them. But if you see they have become so soft, that they break or crumble, then remove from the sugar syrup and keep aside.
28. Serve sweet potato gulab jamun garnished with some slices pistachios or almonds.
More Diwali sweets
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Sweet Potato Gulab Jamun
Ingredients
for sweet potato gulab jamun
- 280 grams sweet potatoes or 1.3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 6 to 8 pistachios - halved or whole, optional
- oil for deep frying
for sugar syrup
- 1 cup sugar or 170 grams sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon green cardamom powder
Instructions
preparing sweet potato mixture
- Firstly you will need to steam or boil sweet potatoes. Rinse 280 grams sweet potatoes (2 medium sized sweet potatoes) very well in water. Then steam them in a pressure cooker or a pan. If cooking in a pressure cooker, then pressure cook for about 4 to 5 whistles with water just about covering the sweet potatoes. You can even peel sweet potatoes first and then steam them.
- Let the sweet potatoes become warm or cool down. If you have used a pressure cooker or pan for cooking the sweet potatoes, then drain them very well.
- Then roughly chop them.
- With a potato masher, mash them very well. There should not be any small chunks of the sweet potatoes.
- Add 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (maida). Mix very well and then knead lightly. Gather the dough together.
- Now make small or medium sized balls from the dough. Flatten them and place one or half of a pistachio in the center. You can also use sliced almonds or cashews or raisins.
- Bring the edges together, seal and form a neat ball. Prepare all the jamuns this way. Keep aside.
preparing sugar syrup
- Now take 1 cup sugar or 170 grams sugar and 1/2 cup water in a pan.
- Keep the pan on a low flame and stir so that the sugar melts.
- Cook the syrup till you get a half-string consistency in it. The syrup should feel sticky and not watery. So you can even cook the sugar syrup till it feels sticky. If the syrup is watery, then the jamuns will break after soaking the syrup.
- Switch off the flame and add 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder. Mix well and keep aside.
- The sugar syrup should be hot or warm when you add the jamuns in it.
frying sweet potato gulab jamun
- Now heat oil for deep frying in a kadai.
- Add a tiny piece of the dough and check the oil temperature. If the dough comes up gradually and steadily, the oil is ready for frying. If it stays at the bottom of the oil, the oil needs to be heated more. If it comes up too quickly, then the oil is too hot for frying. So lower the flame.
- Gently place the balls in the oil. Fry at a low to medium temperature. Keep regulating the flame from low to medium as required. Add the jamun for frying as per the pan size. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- Only when the jamun have become pale golden, then turn them. Use a wooden spatula while turning them as with a steel slotted spoon, they can break.
- Keep on turning & rotating them often for even frying. If you don't turn them regularly, then they will have uneven shades of golden color.
- Fry till the jamun turn golden. Then remove with a slotted spoon.
- Place them on kitchen paper towels.
soaking sweet potato gulab jamun in sugar syrup
- After a few seconds, place them in the sugar syrup.
- Shake the pan or with a spoon pour the sugar syrup on top of the jamun.
- Cover and keep aside. Fry the remaining jamuns and then keep them in the sugar syrup for soaking.
- I kept them in the sugar syrup all the time and did not remove them. But if you see they have become so soft, that they break or crumble, then remove from the sugar syrup and keep aside.
- Serve sweet potato gulab jamun garnished with some slices pistachios or almonds.
Hi Dasana. I made this last night and ledt to soak overnight. I followed recipe exactly, putting 1.5 tablespoon maida. Also the syrup is quite thick. Everything seemed fine last night
But this morning all the jamuns got shrunken in like raisins and hard. If you know what went wrong please tell me
rupini, either looks like the jamuns have not absorbed the syrup. the syrup should be not be thick. if the syrup is thick, then the jamuns won’t be able to absorb it. thats why they have shrunken. what you can do is add some water to the syrup and lightly heat it. the string consistency which must have been formed will go away and the thickness of syrup will reduce. the syrup just need to be sticky without 1 or 2 string consistences. it should be liquid consistency and sticky. hope this helps.
Hi Dassana. thank you for the advice. It makes sense. I will do it next time. for this time, they seem to have absorbed enough syrup to be good for my family. thank you
welcome rupini and thanks for letting me know. i hope next time making sweet potato gulab jamuns will be easier. happy cooking.
Just now finished frying. Looks awesome. Trying to make syrup with jaggery .
Unable to upload pic.
Thanks Anitha. Its alright about the photo part.
Hi Dassana,one more new recipe found in vegrecipesofindia, I got to know we can make sweet potato jamoon by a friend and referred your recipe. Never imagined that we can make jamoon from sweet potato. My family and friends everyone loved it. Thank you very much for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I always loved to try most of your recipes and I am confident that it will turn out good.
Thanks
Welcome Shwetha. Glad to know that you trust the recipes posted here. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback on recipes.
Can I use rice flour instead of all purpose flour,for making gluten free sweet?
you can try and i think adding rice flour should work.
Jamun turned out superb.can’t thank you enough Dassana.My son loves gulab jamun a lot,but he is allergic to gluten.And yesterday I came across your recipe and I tried it today for his birthday.He loved them.Infact we all enjoyed this new version.Thanks a lot.
thats great vidya. glad to know that you son enjoyed the gluten free gulab jamuns on his birthday. in fact you can even make the same recipe with potatoes.
Oh is it.I hv to replace with potatoes add rice flour and fry balls and add in sugar syrup;is it?shall surely try.thanks your recipes are too good.I follow them regularly.
yes same way. same like this recipe, but just add 1.3 cups mashed potatoes instead of mashed sweet potatoes. you can increase the quantity of sugar in the sugar syrup.
Ok thank you.
welcome divya.
Does it taste like real gulab jamuns one which are made using mawa ??..
no ankita. it does not taste like gulab jamuns made from mawa. the taste and texture is totally different.
can we use whole wheat flour instead of maida.
avoid using whole wheat flour. the jamuns can become dense.
i try this gulab jamun…bt my sweet potato balls was breaking in the oil & getting mushy …i can’t even turn them to cook other side…so i want to know why its happen??
this can happen for two reasons. one there is a lot of moisture in the sweet potatoes. so thus some more flour needs to be added. if the binding is weak, the balls will break in oil. secondly the oil has to be at medium hot temperature. on a low temperature, there are changes of the jamuns breaking in oil. also when you fry, let the jamuns become light or pale golden with a crust on them, otherwise they will break. i hope these suggestions help.
Oooo looks so yum….great job dassana..my mom makes a jalebi shaped sweet like this with sweet potato and channa..
thank so much kimia 🙂
Super 🙂
Yummmm!
thanks savi 🙂
nice i’ll definetly try one
sure jyoti, thanks.